The Boy with the Backwards Watch
by nodumbbitch
Summary: Sequel to I am the Tower Around Which You Orbited. Jess's travels take him to places and people he never would've imagined, and all he can wonder is what would've happened if her hadn't left that night.
1. Even in the Taillight

The Boy with the Backwards Watch  
_sequel to I Am the Tower Around Which You Orbited_

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Gilmore Girls, and the only characters I own are the ones I create. I must ask that you don't take my original characters. Thanks.

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**Chapter One:** _Even in the Taillight_

The air was salty all around me. The hood of my car beneath my ass was still hot, despite the fact that the car was dead. Luckily for me, it had died near an ocean. Someone had once told me that the ocean air made you calmer. Now, don't get me wrong, I was already calm, but whoever had told me this - they were right.

I pulled a cigarette out of the box in my pocket and stuck it between my lips. I found my lighter after patting around and flicked it on. The orange flame danced on the tip of the metal and I let it just dance there before flicking it back off. I took the cigarette out of my mouth and rolled it between my fingers. In the not-too-far-off distance, waves crashed onto sand, pushing the smell of salt air higher up the beach. Despite this, I just sat there, on the hood of my dead car, staring at the cigarette in my hand.

_"Are you going to smoke that or mind-meld with it?"_

I couldn't help but smile at myself. "Depends," I said aloud, even though the other end of the conversation was a couple hundred miles away and that particular conversation had happened almost a year prior. Maybe it was the heat from underneath the dead hood, or maybe it was the warmth of ocean air calm, but I could still feel her there. I fought the urge to beat myself up and fell back on the car. I closed my eyes and wondered if maybe it had gone differently, just maybe, I could really feel her there.

The sunset on the horizon was casting long shadows, making the water sparkle and shimmer. There was a couple off in the sand, holding each other and staring at that sunset. Instinctively, I looked away. However, for all I knew, they had a phone, so I might as well take a long walk to the dots of a couple and ask. Then again, they were a couple. They were enjoying each other's company. Plus, I was on an shoulder on the highway looking over the beach. It would take me a long time to get down there. Then I wondered aloud, "Why haven't any cars passed yet?"

Soon it was dark, and the metal below me had grown cold. I could still hear the waves crashing in the distance, I could still smell that salty breeze. The air was colder, less calm. It was bitter and biting. Not that I much minded. Blazing lights shattered my darkness, and I sat up. A car was moving down the highway, and pulled over right in front of my own car. As far as I could tell, a young woman was driving. I hopped up off the hood and she stepped out of her car.

Her hair fell past her shoulders in hot pink curls, ending in black tips. She wore a black and white checkered dress and matching Vans. "Hey, you got a phone?" she called from where she stood. I shook my head, but even caught in the taillights, I wasn't sure if she saw me. She took a couple steps closer and then stopped. "You're not going to rape me or anything, right?"

"What?" I asked, appalled.

"You're not going to ra..."

"I heard you. I'm just... shocked, I guess."

"Well, my friend Melissa once told me that there was this girl who stopped to help a guy on the highway, and he raped her."

"I won't even touch you, I promise."

"Okay, good," and a wave of relief washed over her face. She stepped into the light and I could see that her eyes were bloodshot. She was high. "I'm Star," she said, sticking out her hand. "Jess," I replied, taking it. She shook with childish vigour, and started laughing lightly. "That's a girl's name."

"Yeah, I know."

"Has anyone ever called you Jessica?"

"Lots of people." We stood in silence. "What kind of name is Star?"

"My parents were hippies."

"Ah," I said, and looked down at my feet. She walked over to my car and looked it up and down. I turned around and simply stared at her back. Spinning around (and causing me to jump), she said, "Your car's dead?" I nodded. She put a look of puzzlement on her face. "How long since it died?"

"Two hours, maybe three. I don't have a phone and your's was the only car I've seen since." She pulled her purse off her shoulder and opened it. It had a snapshot from _Alice in Wonderland_ on it, and a keychain with a black tophat. She handed me a small silver phone. "Here," she said blankly, and sat back on the hood of my car.

After calling the operator and getting the name and number of a tow company and mechanic, Star had gotten up again and was surveying my car with interest. Then, she nodded to herself as I looked on and kicked the car hard. She didn't even wince. The headlights shot on and the engine rumbled. "All better," she said, and walked back to her car.

"Thanks," I said in amazement. She drove off before I remembered that I still had her phone. I stood in silence, in a pool of light from my car, listening to the waves crash on the beach. I got into the car, put her phone in the drink holder, and made sure that it was actually working before I drove off into the night. I sighed, took one lasting look at the dark body in the distance, and moved forward.

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THE END of chapter one

Short chapter, I'll admit, but my computer crashed and I lost what I had originally written. Anyway, I think I like this better, despite it being a short chapter. Be prepared for some awesome weirdness of Jess's travels. Also, remember, the first chapter of Tower was really short also.  
If you're just reading this now, go read "I am the Tower Around Which You Orbited," my premier work. A lot of people seem to like it, so... yeah.

3 skazumbi


	2. The Road to Forgotten Times

_Previously in **"The Boy with the Backwards Watch"**_

_She drove off before I remembered that I still had her phone. I stood in silence, in a pool of light from my car, listening to the waves crash on the beach. I got into the car, put her phone in the drink holder, and made sure that it was actually working before I drove off into the night. I sighed, took one lasting look at the dark body in the distance, and moved forward._

**

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Chapter Two:** _The Road to Forgotten Times_

The winding road was slowly becoming grey. I had been driving all night, and the sun was beginning to rise. The Postal Service was playing low on my stereo as light slowly began to shine in through the windows. The world was waking up to a bright new morning and here I was, driving down an empty highway that twisted and wound around mountains and cliffs and beaches, making my way to god knows where. In fact, I wasn't entirely sure where I was, but I needed coffee in my system. That's what you get when you spend too much time with the Gilmore girls. I may have spent an hour looking for a sign when I got on a more used road, sped down to find an exit, any exit, that may have held promise of sweet, sweet caffiene.

I took a sharp turn off the exit and made my way down the road. Cars were starting to emerge on the streets - adults going to work, twentysomethings getting home from a night of partying. I saw several little diners that had so little activity, they weren't possibly open yet. I continued driving at my slow pace, goading the car on, when I finally saw an eensy coffeeshop with several blue-haired, overly-pierced girls were walking into, chatting lightly. I pulled into the driveway for a parkade and swiftly made my way across the street.

The inside reminded me of that fresh-off-the-pot smell Luke's always had, and took a deep intake. It was more soothing to me than ocean air. It was familiar. However, though it soothed my sense, it also made me tense. Tense with the memory of what I had left behind.

I ordered a tall black coffee and sat down in an overstuffed crimson armchair and picked up the nearest magazine as I had left my book in the car. Vogue. I tossed it aside carelessly and stared at my palms. The giggly blueheads were yammering away about something or other with the barista who brought them their coffee. I tried to ignore them and made a little black X on my mental calendar. This marked day twenty-three. The kind-faced, grey-eyed barista who the girls had been chatting up (I assumed) simpered at me as she placed my coffee down in front of me and I returned the smile in gentle thanks. "Thank you..." I looked at her name tag, "Regina."

"You're welcome." She turned to walk away, but I sat up and decided to strike up casual conversation. "How long have you worked here, Regina?" I asked slowly, hoping I wasn't crossing any lines. Although, one of the bluehaired girls seemed to have gone far past that line in her conversation with the barista Regina, and was now staring intentively at her butt. Regina turned around and smiled back at me. "My whole life. I live with my uncle and my mother not too far from here. My grandfather opened it."

"I used to work in a diner with my uncle. See, my mother was undependable at best, if that's a word, and she dumped me on him when I was 17. I became an expert with coffee." Regina had pulled a chair over to the table and sat down across from me while I sipped at my coffee. The girl who had been talking to her seemed kind of pissed at me, but one of her friends calmed her down. They went back to their chat and their coffee. "It was actually a lot of fun, although I would never admit it to anyone who wasn't a stranger."

"What's you're name?" she asked, curious.

"Jess. Jess... Gilmore."

"Regina D'Angelo." She shook my hand.

"Queen of Angels."

"You speak Italian?"

"No, not really. I just know something about names."

"Nice to meet you Jess Gilmore."

"And vice versa, Regina D'Angelo." She smiled at me, and then looked sadly down at her hands, which resting on her lap politely. I took a sip of my coffee. It was perfect - not too hot, not too cold, not too strong, and not too weak. It reminded me a bit of Luke's. I shook the thought out of my head, trying to force the image of her face out. "What is this place?"

"Christinatown." When she saw the look on my face, she laughed and said, "When I first learned that was the name of the town, I couldn't believe it either. A place called Christinatown in the middle of nowhere, California."

"Well, I'm from Stars Hollow, Connecticut, so we've both got our share of weirdness."

"Connecticut? I was going to go to Yale this year, but we couldn't afford it, and I couldn't get a scholarship. I'm just stuck here until I get enough money to go... away."

"I know that feeling. I barely have enough money to get back there." I paused. "That is... if I go back," I added, somewhat rushedly. "Not that I have enough money to do anything else." Then a tall, wrinkled woman appeared behind the counter. She wrinkled her black eyes into a glare in our direction and started moving her lips as if cursing Regina D'Angelo.

"Regina!" she said sharply. Regina looked up sheepishly, and quickly got out of her chair, knocking it over. The girls in the corner giggled quietly, and then continued with their mindless gabber. Regina smiled back at me. "Well, if you'll be in town for a couple days, you should hang out. We've got a place to stay if you need it."

"Thanks," I said, rather taken aback. She went to join the older woman behind the counter, who appeared to be scolding her in fluent Italian. I watched curiously and then entered my own head. Then, a piercing round of some annoying technopop song broke through the quiet simmer of noise in the shop, and I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Then, I remembered Star's cell phone. It must've been her ringtone. I pulled it out of my pocket. _Dani calling..._ flickered across the little screen. "You going to answer that or just let it play?" one of the girls asked.

"Hello?" I said into the phone, ignoring the girl and stepping out of the shop.

"Who the hell is this?" asked an effeminant male voice on the other end. He sounded taken aback by the voice of another guy answering this chick's phone.

"Uhm... my name is Jess."

"Put Star on?" he asked impatiently. He sounded like he would rip my head off if he could see me.

"I kind of, well... I can't."

"Why not?"

"You're name is Dani, right?" He mumbled something in recognition of his own name. "Well, see, my car broke down last night, and Star pulled over and lent me her phone, and she just drove off without it."

"What the fuck kind of story is that? It's bullshit. Where the hell is Star?"

"Look, I don't know. I would really enjoy giving her phone back to her because I'm not too fond of these shit things. So, if you could give me any information at all as to how I can find her, I would really appreciate it." There was a pause on the other end. Someone was talking in the background. "I'm sure she would really like her phone back." Silence.

"So... you're not kidding, huh?" he asked, sounding defeated. I grunted confirmation. "Well, her name is Star Christiansen. I have no fucking clue where she is, and if I did, I wouldn't be confused about why a strange guy is answering her phone."

"I won't ask."

"Good. Well, Mister Jess whatever-the-hell-your-last-name-is, I hope for your sake you get her phone back to her."

"Wait..." I said quickly before he could hang up. "What was that song on her ringtone. I kinda liked it."

"Le Disko by Shiny Toy Guns."

"That was quick."

"I get asked that a lot."

"Ah." He hung up on the other end and I looked down at the phone. It did, indeed, have her name printed across it in Sharpie. _Star G. Christiansen. _Well, now I was one step closer to returning the phone.

I stepped back inside the coffeeshop and the three blue haired girls were getting up, and one of them was talking civilly to Regina. "See you tomorrow, Regi," I heard her whisper under her breath as she began to walk away. I raised an eyebrow at Regina, who flushed and turned back to her work. I sat back down at my table and she came over and said, "Well, it's all clear if you need a place to stay." She smiled a bright white smile at me and I wondered what she had been hiding behind it.

"Thanks," I said, smiling back. I took a sip of my coffee and she turned to the counter. "Have you ever heard of anyone named Star Christiansen?" She froze.

"No," she said blankly, plainly lying. She turned to me and said in a rather empty voice, "Have you ever heard of anyone named Rory Gilmore?"

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THE END of chapter two

A few quick points - Aren't you just loving the cliffhanger? I can't promise it will totally be explained in the next chapter. Secondly, I hope I answered some of the unanswered questions, as in "Where is he?" and "How long since he left Rory?" If you are still confused, leave a review. There is going to be some Jess/Rory interaction in later chapters, but I'll leave it to your imagination for now whether or not it's physical contact or if it's just a phone conversation. You'll just have to read and see.  
Also, if you know who Shiny Toy Guns are, you know that their album with "Le Disko" only came out this year, but it's just a little flair to the story because I am obsessed with that song!  
Anyway, this story is going to be full of twists and turns. So hold on to your hats, w'ere going for a ride.


	3. The Joke's On Me

**The rating for this particular chapter will go up to R, but for the next, it will be back to PG13, (well, the FF equivalents). Sorry about this, but I don't want to physically change the rating because it'll just go down. If you don't want to read R, I suggest you don't this fanfic.**

_Previously in **"The Boy with the Backwards Watch"**_

_"Have you ever heard of anyone named Star Christiansen?" She froze._

_"No," she said blankly, plainly lying. She turned to me and said in a rather empty voice, "Have you ever heard of anyone named Rory Gilmore?"

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**Chapter Three: **_The Joke's On Me_

I woke with a start. My hair was plastered to my forehead and my back was aching from sleeping in the uncomfortable car seat. I took a deep breath and ran my hands through my hair, feeling the sting of sweat licking against the sensitive skin on my cut fingers. I shuddered and put my hands on the wheel. I shook my head quickly and took another deep, cleansing breath. I heard the soft snores in the back seat and looked back. Two bodies sat there, chests rising and falling. The one with the shining, pink curls was falling over on the plain brunette's shoulder. I turned in my chair to watch them.

The brunette moaned and readjusted her body before her eyelids fluttered open slowly, revealing her roud, grey eyes. She poked the other girl sharply on the shoulder and said, "Star, wake up. We're moving again." The other girl groaned and rolled over, brushing her oppressor off. "Star..." she said, grimacing, and the pink haired woman awoke groggily.

"Can't you shut up for a single second, Regina? God." Then she turned to look at me, smiled, and said, politely, "I though Regi said we were moving."

"We will in a second," I said calmly, looking at the clock. "Jannifer should be pulling up in about a minute. Then we can trade cars and get going." I cast a sidelong glance at the reflection of myself in the rearview mirror. I needed a shave and a shower. Not to mention, I needed to stop sleeping in cars.

However, the sun was starting to shine rays through the grime-covered windows of the stinking, dead car. It cast an eerie, dirty glow through the interior of the car. I looked down at my hands. Dried blood was caked all over them. It was all over the wheel too, and on my leather jacket. I added a red X to my internal calendar. It had only been two days since I met Star and Regina. This was already insanely out of hand.

"Instead of just sitting in fucking awkward silence, could we please just turn on the radio or something? You have good taste in music, you must have CDs or tapes or something for Chrissakes," Star complained, leaning over me to turn on the stereo. The tape that had been playing, a mix, blasted Jack Off Jill's "When I am Queen" into our ears.

"Too loud, too loud!" yelled Regina iminently, and Star rushed to turn it down. "Sorry," she said meekly. Too early in the morning, I get it." She hopped forward and sat on the edge of her seat. "So, what time did Yanni say she'd be coming?"

"Jannifer, you mean?"

"Yeah, Yanni. I'm tired of sitting around waiting in a car that died convienantly in the spot where she said she'd meet us."

"She probably fell down a rabbit hole," Regina spat in sarcastic impatientance. Star turned and hit her gruffly on the shoulder.

"I'm serious, is that blue-haired freak late or what?"

"Look, she told me that it'd take her while to get the car back from Dani and Geoff. She'll be here, and if she's not here on time, it's not like we have anything else to do except wait."

"No offense, Gilmore, but you need a bath and a breath mint or a thousand," Star grumbled as she sat back in her seat and started rummaging through her Alice purse. "I can't believe you guys didn't let me get any out of my house before you rushed me away." The fetal light was beginning to shine brighter through the dirt covered glass. The broken window beside my head had been taped up rather haphazardly. I had been very lackluster this summer when it came to those kinds of things. The light hurt my eyes. I felt like I hadn't gotten a decent sleep in decades. I brought one of my mangled, bloody fingers up to my nose, which was still tender and probably broken. I tried to shift my weight, but the sharp pain in my stomach stopped me from moving too much. I leaned back in my seat and sighed, feeling the leather-like interior squeak beneath my diminishing weight. Star was climbing into the passenger seat and lighting up a cigarette.

"Care for a smoke?" she asked, rolling down the window to let an inundation of light enter. I waved my hand lightly as a way of saying no, and she blew a stream of blue-grey smoke out of the window. Regina sat crossly in the back, her arms folded over her chest. "You do realise how much blood is all over this car?" Regina said. "The cops are going to wonder what the hell Jannifer's doing with a bloodied-up, dead, and broken car that isn't hers."

"The cops won't question Yanni about the car because they don't know a goddamn thing," Star said sharply to our companion. Regina shrunk back into her seat and mumbled something to herself. I relaxed and let the new song (something by Tilly and the Wall) wash over me in a wave of calm.

_"What?" I asked the barista sharply. She just glared at me and huffed._

_"I said, 'Have you ever heard of anyone named Rory Gilmore?' Have you or haven't you?"_

_"I haven't," I lied, but I said it with fervor and I hoped she believed me. The look she gave me told me that she didn't. Her previously kind, grey eyes were burning through me now. "How about you? You were clearly lying when you said you didn't know Star Christiansen."_

_"Would you shut up?" she said sharply through her teeth. She looked around desperately and took my hand after deciding it was safe. Roughly, without caring that she was squeezing my hand tightly, she pulled me out of the coffee joint and started pulling me down the road. She sharply turned a corner, and, letting go of my hand, she sighed loudly, her shoulders moving up and down in a genuine sigh. "Look, you can't talk about that girl here. She's bad news."_

_"Okay, tell me why."_

_"First tell me the truth. Do you know Rory Gilmore?"_

_I sighed again, desperately, and again, I lied. "No I don't," I said plainly. She looked confused._

_"I just fig'rred, considering you were from Stars Hollow and you're last name's Gilmore... I thought you were related. Or at least you knew her and you were taking on her last name." I tried not to wince as she hit the nail on the head._

_"Who is she?"_

_She looked at me intensly and thought over her answer. "I will only answer one of your questions now. So, do you want me to tell you how I know Rory, or do you want me to tell you about Star?" I thought it over in my head. Curiousity was gnawing at me with both questions, and I couldn't tell which was being bitten away faster. Since I needed to find Star immediately and return her phone (for fear of being killed by Dani), I decided on that._

_"Tell me about Star," I said, defeated. Regina grinned, and took my hand again._

_"Follow me," she said quickly, pulling me further into the inner throng of Christinatown. It was filled with suburn-type houses and little convenience stores. Her grip was soft and sticky with coffee and sweat. We stopped at a small house, painted bright pink. She knocked hard, banging on the wood of the door, until somebody answered._

_"What'dya want?" a groggy, young man asked, his light hair ruffled. He had some scruff around his cheekbones, but then again, so did I. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and looked down at Regina (Regina was taller than I, but he was even taller). "Hey, it's you!" he said, smirking, and quickly ushered us inside._

_The house was dark and smelled of must. The curtains were drawn everywhere, and through little cracks of light, you could see thousands of dust particles floating merrily through the air. There was a distinct smell of faux strawberries lingering in the musky air. "Does this house ever get light?" I asked, coughing on the inhale. "Or cleaned?"_

_"Actually, no." The man said proudly. He led us into the main room, where I could make out shapes of furniture. There was an acrid smoke hanging just below the high ceiling, and there were sounds of stirring all through the house. Mice? I wondered. A furry, warm body wound itself between my legs, and I looked down. I could barely make out the shape of a cat in the grey light. Regina had pulled her teeshirt up over her nose to deafen the smell. The cat beneath me mewoled slightly and scurried off up the stairs. As we began to make our way into the next room, I noticed that the ruffles of movement weren't from the cat but from the vast amount of youth laying on the floors, couches, chairs, tables, stairs, and rugs. The smell was starting to get to me, and I too pulled my shirt over my nose. However, it didn't smell much better, considering I'd been wearing the same one for almost a week._

_"What are all these people doing here?" I asked in disbelief, looking around at all the sleeping bodies, stirring gently in their sleep. The man led us into the kitchen at the back of the house, leading us through darkened, dust-filled rooms filled with deeply sleeping men and women. When we arrived in the damp, moldy, yet light-filled kitchen, there was nobody around, and then man began to say something, but Regina cut him off._

_"A lot of kids come here and they just stay until they decide to leave. Pretty much, most of them sleep all day and are awake at night."_

_"But why did you take me here?"_

_"Well, the girl you're looking for might be hidden in here somewhere."_

_"Star?" the man said, his voice deep and gruff, but with an effeminant tone behind it. "She was here a few weeks ago. Haven't seen her in a while. She took one or two of the girls down to L.A. or some shit like that. I haven't seen them in a while. I would really enjoy having a few of those girls back, Regi, so if you see her, you tell her that."_

_"When's Dani getting back from Santa Ria?" Regina asked, staring at a large clump of mold clinging to the tiled wall._

_"Who the hell knows? What he wants to do is what he wants to do," the man said, and he picked up a mug filled with some dark, rancid liquid."Oh, by the way, I'm Geoff. What's you're name?" he asked me._

_"Jess Gilmore. He's from Connecticut."_

_"Why's he looking for Star?" he asked, staring into the bottom of the ceramic mug and sniffing it cautiously. He seemed to decide that it was worth drinking and took a deep swig._

_"I have her cell phone." He raised a curious eyebrow at me, as if saying _How did you get **that**?_ "My car broke down last night and she stopped to help me. I don't have my own cell, so she let me use hers. It turns out I didn't need it, she kicked my car and it jumped back to life."_

_"Last night, you say? How far away did your car break down?"_

_"About a half hour's drive or so," I said, twidling my thumbs, still wondering why no one was telling me exactly what was so bad about Star Christiansen._

_"She's gotta be back in town. Maybe Jannifer knows," he stated, turning to Regina, who shook her head. "Jannifer and her girls came in two nights ago begging for shelter and actually moved their asses this morning. Still, she seems to know everything about that girl before anyone else does. The two shimmy all night long when they get a chance. Of course, everyone knows that Star doesn't swing that way, but I thnk Jannifer's been rather desperate lately." He said this last remark pointedly, as if saying this to show something to Regina, and cast her a look. A wave of red was forming at the bottom of her throat and crawling its way up through her face. "Innyhoo, I'm surprised Star didn't jump you, especially considering she was probably high," he said, turning to me. "Were there any other girls with her?" I shook my head. "Dammit. They get better business in the suburbs, but in the city they get more for less." He shook his head._

_We sat in silence for a moment, then Regina said quietly, "I bet you have a lot of questions now, Jess." I nodded._

_"Before anything else, tell me why this Star girl is such a bad name out in public. Then answer the rest of my questions."_

_"Alight. So here's the truth about Star Christiansen..."_

The screech of a car coming to a halt broke me from my thoughts. She was only two minutes late (thank God for that) and Star quickly jumped out of the car to greet her. Jannifer hopped out and spread her arms open, embracing Star. "Heylo you!" she shrieked in joy. The two hadn't seen each other in ages. Regina got out of the car slowly and approached Jannifer. The morning sun made Jannifer's blue hair gleam and made her various piercings blinding. Regina pushed stray strands of soft hair behind her hair and greeted Jannifer with a quick, passionate kiss. I sighed and stepped of the car. "Oh, I'm not touching him," she said, jokingly. "Fuck what the hell happened to you guys?" she asked, looking us over. Nobody bothered to say anything. When Jess called me up and told me you guys needed a car ASAP, I didn't think you were actually in trouble. My god," she looked me up and down, her purple eyes glistening in disgust. My hands were covered in dry blood, as was my cracked and bruised nose. If only she could've seen me with my shirt and jacket off, she would've seen the bruises and not-yet-dried blood that covered my chest and stomache. Star was sporting a black eye and bleeding lips, as well as a broken finger. That was the extent of her injuries. I hadn't seen any of Regina's because she got out as fast as she could. We were a sorry bunch.

"So, the car's dead, you're all beat up as hell. You might wanna get to the closest hospital. Only problems being that I don't want him bleeding all over my controls, I know Star here failed her driver's test ten million times, and you look hollowed out and in no shape to drive."

"I can do it," Regina said, taking the keys in Jannifer's outstretched hands. The bluehaired girl gave Regina one final kiss and the three of us got into the car - a pink haired girl with a black eye decked in a black corset over a black and white striped girlie hoodie and a tulle skirt; a palin-looking brunette wearing a ripped teeshirt and bloodied jeans and an unwashed boy in a leather jacket with a large red stain swelling on the stomach. We were an odd bunch. Star and Regina took the front seats with Regina at the wheel, allowing me to get a somewhat proper rest. I closed my eyes as we started rushing down the mountain, allowing the lullaby-esque "Spiders" to fill my mind.

_"Star was born here, in Christinatown. This is her house, and she and her mother lived here alone. Her father died the day after her birth, in a car accident. Her mother was constantly grieving and, rather than looking after Star, Star looked after her. This made her feel... neglected, I suppose, and she bcame a problematic kid. She'd beat up other kids at school and was on drugs and had lost her virginity by the time we reached middle school. Her mother died when she was sixteen, and she started whoring herself out. The community began to frown upon her, and wouldn't let her come into stores and churches for fear of rebellion spreading. She disappeared one day, and went to L.A. She must've been eighteen or nineteen then. She came back with these two in tow -" Regina nodded to Geoff. The other person must've been Dani._

_"They started this place up. A refuge, I guess, that's not too far from Oakland and San Fransisco, where kids can come and hole up. It turned into a place that sells drugs and sex, and every couple of months, Star would take a few girls down to L.A. with her and they would party for weeks on end. Some of the girls ended up dying. Star was running out of money, but since most of these girls didn't have families, nobody but the townspeople could tell the police - and they didn't have any proof. When Star's money ran dry, she gave the house to Geoff and Dani, who have stopped some of her antics, but not with much of a tight fist. It just seems like it to everyone else._

_"The fact that everyone in this town can't seem to get through a conversation without saying her name is kind of taboo. Everyone pretends that they don't mean to, but they can't help it. Every small town loves it's gossip."_

_"I hear that," I said. Geoff nodded and got up, finding a pot of the disgusting liquid. He poured himself more into the filthy mug and I grimaced in disgust._

_"Anyway, there isn't much more than that. Most of us are told to react like that when anyone talks about Star. So if it seems like I overreacted, that's just the way it is."_

_"Well, I need to get her cellphone back to her, and nobody seems to have any idea where she is at the moment, so I dunno what I'm going to do."_

I awoke with a start. We had come to a sudden stop. "Toll booth," Star said through her teeth. It was lucky I was alseep in the backseat and most of my injuries were hidden and Star really only had a black eye, which wouldn't be that unusual. We pulled up and Regina payed, smiling kindly to the toll booth officer. He seemed confuddled by her cheeriness but didn't seem to care. Sleep overtook me again as the car rocked to the sway of the traffic.

_"I want you to take me with you," Regina said quietly as we walked away from the pink house. When we were leaving, I informed her that I was going to find Star and then go back home. She tugged on my jacket when she said this, for effect. "I want to come with you," she said. "I want to get the hell away from this place and all this psychotic drama. Please." She looked so sincere, I only muttered "Yes," and trudged on. She stopped. "What? You going to come with my by waiting there?"_

_"You go back to the cafe and get your car and come pick me up here," she said. "I don't want my grandmother to find out I've left."_

_"Running away, are you?"_

_"Aren't you?" I was silent, and started to walk. "I'll be back in about five minutes," I shouted over my shoulder. She said something to my back, but I couldn't make it out. As I walked through the small town, it was hard to believe that Star was the reason it was so seedy. Star was the reason so many girls and guys would just walk around checking each other out. Star was the reason why so many people I had seen seemed to be high. This town was a curse, a blemish, and I felt like I owed it to Regina to rescue her from it._

_When I found my car, there was a young woman in a black and white-striped shirt, black corset, and black tulle skirt standing by it. She had bright pink curls falling over her shoulders, ending it pure black. She stood between my car and a blue vespa-like machine. She grinned at me maliciously as I approached her. "You have my phone."_

_"You have my car."_

_"Not quite a fair trade, but I'll take it. Also, uhm... this vespa-thingie here... it's kinda, ya'know, not mine. And I don't have a car. So I was wondering, if I paid you, would you take me where I need to get." The thought of getting money to get all the way across the country and back to Rory made me want to drool, and I couldn't think of not saying yes. So I did. And the three of us ended up in that car together, heading west to Oakland._

**To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

This chapter is nowhere near finished. I wrote this in the span of about four hours, just this morning, and I had to take a break. Otherwise, this may have ended up being about 7,000 words, which, in my opinion, is far too many for any of my fanfiction. It would completely unbalanced. So at 3,551, I take a break and you shall wait for a few days 9or a few hours, if we're lucky) to see part two of "The Joke's On Me." Please review, this was really hard work and I can't see straight anymore, so I would appreciate appreciative comments. Even constructive critism... especially considering I would usually say 'Quality over quantity," and this is the exact opposite.

P.S. I no longer have Microsoft Word, and I am using WordPad, which doesn't have a spellchecker, so you can _politely_ point out typos, please.


	4. The Joke's On Me con't

Continuation of **The Boy with the Backwards Watch, chapter three: _The Joke's On Me_**

The daylight was fading rapidly through the windows. I sat up in my backseat, and checked on Regi and Star. Star was fast asleep and Regina looked ready to pass out. A sign on the side of the road read "Illinois State Line." We had been driving for almost two days straight, Regina and I switching on and off.

"Hey," I said quietly, and touched her shoulder. She forced a grin at me from the rearview mirror.

"Motel soon?" she said. I nodded and sat back. She continued her drive. I closed my eyes, letting the cold rush of descending night bask over me. I felt like I hadn't gotten any sleep since I left Christinatown. Immediately, images flashed through my mind. Images of Star, Regina, Rory. I tried to hold on to Rory's sweet face as long as I could. But it began slipping away. Slipping into that horrible dream-like memory.

_Star knocked furiously on the door of this massive house. I stood beside Regina, who kept shooting me awkward glances. "C'mon, I know you're here, so open up," Star growled._

_"It looks like nobody's home," Regina commented. I nodded in agreeance. A few more seconds of Star's pounding and muttering, and the door finally swung open. A young man who looked somewhat like myself beckoned the three of us in. I wasn't entirely sure, but he seemed to have bolted to door behind us. Neither Star nor Regina seemed to either notice or care. Regina was just soaking in the enormous abyss that was this house. No furniture, just stairs, walls, a cieling and a floor. It seemed to leave her in awe._

_"Follow," the man said. Star trodded behind him into the next room, with me and Regina right behind._

_"You owe," Star said. "600."_

_"I know, I know," he mumbled, and he began going through a bureau that was the only thing in the room. As he rummaged inside, he said, "The deal was you brought nobody else."_

_"They were my ride. They insisted." The man was scrawny and delicate, but looked like he could pack a punch. He continued rummaging through the drawers, pulling up papers, and various other things. I wondered why he was looking for cash in drawers anyway, unless, of course, he owed Star 600 of something that wasn't cash._

_Suddenly, the man whipped around, a gun pointed straight at Star's heart. His hands were shaking. Regina went wide-eyed and screamed. Star ducked and I rushed straight at the guy. I didn't even know why, I mean, I didn't really know either of these girls, yet I knew I had to protect them. I knocked the gun from his hand and hit him square in the jaw. His retaliation was immediate, with a simultaneous punch and kick to the gut. First, I wondered how that was possible. Then, I felt the pain. That's when I noticed that there were shards of broken glass from the nearby broken window where my body fell. My fingers felt like they had been torn apart. Something sharp stuck up into my rib cage, and from the floor, I noticed that Star had slugged the guy in the face. He hit her back, but not half as hard. Regina was off somewhere else, trying to get the door to open. The man grabbed Star's hand and snapped one of her fingers. She screamed._

_I scrambled up off the floor, clutching my middle, and tried to push Star out of his way. I kicked him hard in the groin and Regina shouted, "I got it open," as he doubled over. Star helped me hobble to the door and into the car, where Regina was ready to drive. We sped away and the man appeared in his doorway, closing it. I let loose a deep breath before I screamed, "What the hell was that?"_

_"I just wanted my 600," Star mumbled, before going through her purse. "You need to call Jannifer. She can get us a car and we can get out of here."_

_"First of all, you need to explain what the hell that was!" I shouted. "And secondly, who the hell is Jannifer?"_

_"One of the blueheads," Regina said from the front seat. Star let out a sigh._

_"That man was named Richard Halloway. He owed me six hundred bucks, which I figured, 'Hey, I could collect so we could get where we're going and be able to afford it. Anyway, he told me to collect the debt alone, and I'm guessing he was trying to get rid of me... if you catch my drift. Not exactly popular with his type of people."_

_"Not exactly popular with my type either," I mumbled. She gave me a significant look._

_"Look, he is a crazy douce. I didn't expect that to happen. He probably wouldn't have harmed us any more significantly than he already has. If you hadn't jumped him, he would've just made us leave his house and never come back, using that gun as a threat. But no, I guess you're hero-boy."_

_"Look, I saw a gun and I reacted. At the time, I thought it was the right reaction. I could've been off, maybe, but I reacted. I was trying to make sure nothing happened to either of you so that I wouldn't get blamed and didn't you say he was trying to get rid of you? Isn't that major condricition?"_

_"I don't know, alright? I just don't know. It got screwed up, and I'm sorry. I just want to get out of this sorry state. At least everybody's intact." We sat in silence for a few minutes, while trying to get onto the highway. Star inhaled sharply and I noticed that she couldn't find her cell phone in her purse, and that she had a broken finger._

_"Here," I said, taking the purse. After a few minutes, I found it in a hidden pocket. "What's the number?" She told me slowly so that I had time to type it all in. _

_"Her name's Jannifer and tell her Star and Regi need a car." I nodded and waited for the voice to come up on the phone._

_"Hello?" a slurred female voice came from the end, loudly._

_"Hi, Jannifer? My name is Jess... I'm with Star and Regina. Could you possibly get us a car?"_

_"Uhm... okay? Where are you?" Regina shouted back the route we were on and Jannifer seemed to hear and confirm it. "Tell them that I can get them my car around 8.10 tomorrow morning, on a shoulder between exits ten and eleven, and it'll be overlooking a couple houses."_

_"Alright. Thank you." I clicked the phone off and then turned to Star. "Why do we need a car? Mine works just fine."_

_"No, it doesn't. It'll die by the time we get where we're going."_

_"Which is where?"_

_"New York City. That's where you can drop me off, alright?" Star said nothing else, and was soon asleep. On the way, Regina and I traded positions and I began to drive into the unknown world laying ahead of me._

The diner we pulled into was small and filled with truckers. Despite this, we were starved and needed nourishment. I was halfway through my omelette when a call came through on Star's (surprisingly not-dead) cell phone and she went to the bathrooms to continue the conversation. She was finishing tying up her loose ends so she could start fresh in New York. I threw Regina a look. She was staring vacantly at her plain toast.

"So... who is Rory Gilmore?" I asked her after swallowing a mouthfull of disgusting cheesy egg. She looked up from her toast.

"This girl that I met in a Yale chatroom a few months ago. I told her how much I wished I could go to Yale, and she told me that she originally was going to go to Harvard, but one of the deciding factors to Yale was that she'd be closer to her boyfriend. But then, about a month or so ago, he left. She was just about to go to Europe with her mom, and her boyfriend just up and left. Really sad. She never mentioned his name though, and she was from Star's Hollow. I was just wondering if you knew her."

"Oh. Well... I lied."

"I know," she went back to her toast and seemed uninterested. Star appeared at my side and handed me the phone.

"You wanna do the honours?"

"The honours of what," I dared to ask.

"Smashing my phone," she grinned at me and I grinned back. Despite it all, we were travelling together and we had to learn to live with it. Suddenly, I felt like maybe life without Rory wasn't so bad after all. Then I remembered how bad it really was, and added another new black X to my internal calendar before sipping my coffee.

* * *

THE END of chapters three/four

I know, really really dark. And there are a lot of inconsistencies in the plot, but that'll sometimes happen when each chapter is written a month after the one before it. And sorry it took so long to get this one up. I'm starting at a new school and all, and it's been a major workload. Innyhoo, in my freetime (when I'm not doing homework, playing field hockey, at school, or indulging my television needs) I will try to update this as much as I possibly can. My basic plan is to finish this FanFic while finishing When I am Queen and That Same Old Lost Kid. Then I will concentrate on my Wonderfalls fic and the much-less popular ones that haven't been updated since, like, March.  
I promise, it won't stay this dark much longer. And Rory will make an appearance, as promised. Stars Hollow, Luke, etc may also come back into the mix.

See you ASAP.


	5. Movin on and on and on and on

_Previously in **"The Boy with the Backwards Watch"**_

_"You wanna do the honours?"_

_"The honours of what," I dared to ask._

_"Smashing my phone," she grinned at me and I grinned back. Despite it all, we were travelling together and we had to learn to live with it. Suddenly, I felt like maybe life without Rory wasn't so bad after all. Then I remembered how bad it really was, and added another new black X to my internal calendar before sipping my coffee.

* * *

_

**Chapter Five:** _Movin' on and on and on and on and on..._

I took a deep breath. The scent of Boston - it was different from New York somehow. Maybe it was the Red Sox, maybe it was the river, and maybe it was every other famous thing about the city, but it was different. Almost calming in a sense. Regi and I had been here for about three weeks. We were staying at some small hotel just outside of the city were people stayed for weeks at a time. They had good coffee and a nice little record store nextdoor. It was comfortable.

Star had called the night before. Everything was going great. She was working in a diner, and she got free Mets tickets from some radio station. Her apartment was crap, but she loved it.

I took another deep breath and added an ebony X to my internal calender. I was happy, I suppose. As happy as one could be in my situation. Regi was trying to get us onto a DUCK tour of Boston. Unfortunately, money was running low, but she had applied for a job at the little recordstore. She was hoping to find an apartment at some point in time, and maybe get a job at Newbury Comics inside the city.

She came back, and she looked refreshed and new. Away from the scandalous town in which she had been raised. Nothing could beat the look she had on her face. Her skin was creamy and light, her eyes glittering. She had cut her hair to shoulder length, and had something done to it so that it was curly - not the loose, shiny curls like Star, but messy and small, almost more wavy than curly. It made he look very cute. She smiled brightly, holding up two tickets. "Ready for some fun?" I stood up from the curb and followed her to our DUCK boat thing.

"Okay, that was not fun in the least," I said. I was wiping rain from my face. As we made our way through Boston, it had begun to downpour. Her hair was plastered to her face and she was grinning at me insescently. "Okay, maybe a little," I said. I couldn't help my self. Her smile was contagious. She was like a little tiny kid that was so adorable you couldn't refuse to give her whatever she wanted.

"Well, getting rained on is always fun," she said. I nodded vigorously, and jumped into a nearby puddle, splashing her completely. She screeched a little bit and kicked water in my direction. We ended up doubled over in laughter as we continued our walk through the city. "We're not lost at all," I said sarcastically, looking at our surroundings.

"Well, you killed the map when you splashed me," she called innocently.

"No, the rainy tour killed your map. I just aided in the slaughter." I wrapped an arm around her waist and she hugged my chest tightly as we walked through the city.

"You're a map murderer."

"No, I am an aid in map murder."

"Thus, map murderer."

"Fine. If you'll have it no other way." She smiled up at me and I rubbed her shoulder. "You're really cold."

"Not so much." She took another look around us, and suddenly burst from my grip, running to the end of the block. "I know where we are!" she shouted to me through the rain.

"Boston?"

"No duh, silly. I mean I know where we are in Boston?"

"How far away is the hotel?"

"Maybe three blocks?" I took her arm and pulled her in the direction she was pointing to. She laughed freely as we ran down the block. "First one there's a rotten egg."

"It's three blocks."

"Exactly. Thus the rotten egg part." I shook my head and sped up after her.

"We're going to die like this," I said to myself as I slowed to catch my breath. Up ahead, she turned to face me.

"Tired already?" She asked, walking slowly towards me, panting.

"Hell yes. Why couldn't you have brought an umbrella? I mean, you must've forseen rain if your plan was to come to Boston."

"Sorry that I'm not psychic," she panted, grinning. I stood up straight and picked her up. She was a tiny thin little thing. She screamed in delight. "I'm not your umbrella, Jessica!"

"Oh, you're going to get it for calling me that name!" I said. I set her down and started to run again. My heart was beating to burst, but I beat her there. "That's what I get for smoking," I said, falling onto the wet pavement in front of the hotel. She flopped down beside me. The rain beat down heavily all over our bodies, and we were completely soaked.

"What am I going to do when you go back to Stars Hollow?" she asked me quietly. I could barely hear her underneath the pounding of the rain.

"I told you, I haven't decided yet. I don't know if I want to go back."

"I know you want to. I know you will." I sighed, pulling my body up from the ground. "You're still in love with Rory, aren't you?" I was silent, just looking at Regi's grey eyes and wet, brown hair. "Aren't you?" I stood up, and offered her my hand. She scrambled up by herself. "Jess?"

"I don't know, Regi. I just... don't know. I haven't seen her in months." She pushed the door of the hotel open and stepped inside. The manager had used forsight and set down tarps all over the entrace, along with towels. I picked two up, and threw the blue one at Regi. She rubbed her head and face with the soft, dry towel. "I'm not leaving yet," I said, and she gave me a happy glance.

I went quietly up the stairs to our room, and pulled the door open. I flopped down on the couch and Regi collapsed on the bed. "Well, Boston is... good. You should stay. At least for a while."

"I think I am. Staying. I mean, like I said, I don't know. It's kind of complicated. Plus, Rory's still in Europe. She must be getting back in a couple weeks at least. Right? How long can one spend in Europe. It's almost halfway through August, so she should be back soon. I guess. What do you think?" I looked over at Regi. She was snoring lightly, and her eyes were closed. I smirked and threw my towel over her lovingly. I stood up and stretched, looking around the room.

The walls were a pale, sky blue. The carpet was calmingly brown. The bed had green sheets and a purple comforter. The bedside table had a clock with a bright green time flashing across it. There was a cream, off-white phone next to it.

Rain pelted the windows. Bring. Bring what? I never understood why this ringbck tone always sounded. Who decided it? "Hello?" asked a gruff voice on the other end after the bring-ing had ended. "Hello? Is anyone there?" I swallowed, listening to the voice on the other end. The other person continued saying "Hello" and various other complaints about hang-ups before hanging up. I sighed, the phone still on my ear. As though in slow motion, I sighed and put the reciever back. Something was rushing through my veins. I turned around on my seat on the bed and rested my arm over Regi's body. I dug my face into her head and took a deep breath. She smelled like Rory. It was a similar scent, at least - light, almost fruity. She breathed evenly under my arm. Into the side of her head, I murmured something. I was drifting into sleep, and I can't entirely remember what it was. I think I might've said, "Luke," and then smiled.

* * *

THE END of chapter five

Yeah. It's lighter, happier, etc. YAY!


	6. Hiccups

_Previously in **"The Boy with the Backwards Watch"**_

_As though in slow motion, I sighed and put the reciever back. Something was rushing through my veins. I turned around on my seat on the bed and rested my arm over Regi's body. I dug my face into her head and took a deep breath. She smelled like Rory. It was a similar scent, at least - light, almost fruity. She breathed evenly under my arm. Into the side of her head, I murmured something. I was drifting into sleep, and I can't entirely remember what it was. I think I might've said, "Luke," and then smiled.

* * *

_

**Chapter Six: **_Hiccups_

I sighed deeply and rolled over. Something was different, something was wrong. My eyes fluttered open to look around a dark, empty hotel room. All the clothes, books, CDs, and tapes that had been scattered around were no longer there. The lights had been turned off, my shoes had been pulled off my feet, and the covers had been draped over me. I reached for the mechanical clock beside the bed. Picking it up, my eyes took a second to adjust to the bright red letters.

"Shit," I said under my breath, throwing the covers off of me. I looked frantically around the room for some sign that two people had been living there for three weeks. Scrambling, tearing at the walls and floor, I knew that everything was gone, except for my clothes, which had been stacked neatly on a chair. There was a little note lying on top of my possessions. I ran my hand through my greasy hair, shaking my head slowly, not believing that this was happening. It wasn't possible.

I punched the nearest wall with vigour and frustration. Something like anger, or sadness, rushed through my veins. This could not have been happening. I sat down on the end of the bed, note in hand, reading it over and over in my head.

_Jess - _

_You know this hurts me more than it hurts you. I know it too. But I can't stay here, I can't be with you every day and not be with you. You want Rory, you need her. So go to her. Please, for my sake. Go. And don't think about me too often._

_Love, Regi_

A little strand of her hair was taped to the paper of the note. It had been pulled out and written hastily. I wondered how it had fallen apart when only a few hours earlier we had been so happy, so serene. Had it been lost in only those few moments when we were talking about Rory? True, I didn't love Regina the way that she had loved me, nor the way that I loved Rory. She was so much like a sister that made the world seem okay. I couldn't stand this. It felt like being abandoned.

Was this how Rory had felt when I left her standing there in the dark of the town square? Was this how Regi felt every time we brought up Rory? Was this how Star felt when we left her alone in New York City? Was this how Luke felt when he had picked up my simple note and had read it over and over in his head? Was I failing?

So many questions rushed through my head as I dumped everything that I had brought with me into my backpack. I searched the room to make sure that nothing was forgotten and I closed the door slowly behind me. It seemed like I had been ending too many chapters of my life lately.

I walked slowly, in a graceful emptiness, to the front desk. I paid the checkout girl and thanked her graciously for the room. She smiled politely at me, and genuinly thanked me for my business. She asked me about that pretty girl I had come with. I told her that "that pretty girl" had already left. She now looked genuinly sorry for her having left before me when apologized to me. "Not your fault," I murmured as I turned away, headed for yet another chapter of possibly yet another life.

The streets were dimming. I checked how much money I had left. Enough for a taxi and a bus ticket. So, I hailed a taxi, which took me to the bus station. So, I bought a bus ticket. The guy from which I had bought my ticket looked tired. The sun had completely set by the time the bus pulled out of the station. I took a deep breath and watched the city fly by under darkened streets.

The night bus was calming. The air was cool, despite having been a rainy, mid-August night. I felt like maybe this was what my new life was. I would constantly be on the move until I died. Then again, it wasn't so much a new life as a resurrection of my old life, pre-Stars Hollow.

There were a few interesting characters scattered around the bus. An old couple with wrinkled skin and white hair sleeping on each other's shoulders, a young blonde girl and her boyfriend, a middle aged black man with greying hair in a suit. All these people had stories to tell, just like me.

The bus only made one stop. It was somewhere in between Boston and Hartford. My eyes were closing and sleep was beginning to take me over. I heard a few footsteps climbing up the bus's faux-rubber steps, trying to find an uncomfortable plushy seat cushion to rest the ass attached to legs attached to the feet on. The settled darkness outside my window seemed more imperative than the new attendant. They showed the bus driver their ticket and then proceeded to walk down the aisle.

"Mind if I sit?" came an all-too-familiar voice, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"There are plenty of empty seats miss. This doesn't have to be the one you... choose," I finished slowly as I finally looked up at who was standing over me in the aisle. "Back from Quebec, Aerin?" She just smiled.

* * *

THE END of chapter six

Granted, not that long of a chapter, but still. Fun, fun, fun plot twists and fun.


	7. Heartbeats

_Previously in **"The Boy with the Backwards Watch"**_

_"There are plenty of empty seats miss. This doesn't have to be the one you... choose," I finished slowly as I finally looked up at who was standing over me in the aisle. "Back from Quebec, Aerin?" She just smiled.

* * *

_

**Chapter Seven: **_Heartbeats_

"How ya been, Jessie?" She asked me, grinning. She had gained a bit of weight and seemed less pale. Her smile didn't seem as toothy as it had at one point, but she was still dressed in her same old garb.

"Don't call me that," I muttered as she sat down. I pressed my body up against the side of the bus, as far away from Aerin as possible. She gave me a weird look and shook her head, laughing.

"I don't bite. I dunno why you're so afraid."

"I'm going to see Rory, alright? I don't want to screw it up and make my feelings go all wonky again. You're supposed to be out of the picture. You and Regi and everyone else. Out of the picture." Now she just looked confused.

"Who the hell is Reggie? You been seein' a guy, Mariano?" she asked, not really that taken aback by her assumption.

"No. Regina. She was just... this girl I met over on the west coast. We came to stay in Boston for a little while. I guess she was falling for me or something, and she just left. She thought I was still pining for Rory."

"But you are, that's why you're going back, isn't it?" Aerin was clutching a bag mini duffel bag to her chest and looking at me intently. I relaxed a little bit. I could read her motives in her eyes - it was simply a friendly chat.

"I'm not... pining... I told Rory I'd come back. But I thought... I dunno. Maybe I was pining, but I'm not anymore. I'm just... keeping a promise." She gave me another intense look.

"Jess Mariano? Keeping a promise? Goddamn, I thought I'd never see the day." She was quiet for a moment. "You're pining." She was biting her lip the way she used to and nodding at me as though she were omniscient. I smiled at her and shrugged me shoulders innocently. "Yeah, I knew it."

"Okay. I'm not pining. I'm... missing. With passion. I do miss her though. She's already at Yale and probably wondering why I haven't called or anything. I've been wondering that myself. But maybe I was screwing up, or maybe I was screwed up to leave. Ah, all this metacognative shit is getting confusing." I sighed and rolled my head back, chuckingly softly. I leaned forward and looked at Aerin out of the corner of my eye. One of her long, pale fingers was playing with a tassle on her bag, and she was just looking around, trying to seem innocent. I sighed and sat up, looking directly at her. "Okay, what's in the bag?" She squealed with delight and pulled the bag open. She showed me a small book.

The sight of the book made me sit up straight. It was beautiful, and seemed glowy. She handed it to me. "Oh god. Oh god, how did you get this?" I looked up at her and she just smiled cutely. "You like?" she asked.

"I love." Then I looked at her. "This is a gift?"

She flushed a little. It was strange to see colour in her cheeks. "I was going down to Stars Hollow to give it do you." So, she had alterior motives then? I ran my hand over the cover. It was absolutely amazing. A signed Howard Zinn Reader for me. It was the best gift anyone had ever gotten for me. "Why'd you get it?" She smirked at me and shook her hair. I noticed then that it was cut differently than it had been before graduation. "Nice hair." I said quietly before turning to look out the window. We were pulling into the Hartford bus station. "What are you going to do now?" I asked. "I mean, you've given me the book. Where are you going to go?"

"I'm staying with a friend here in Hartford. It's all good. You don't have to worry about me."

"Are you sure?" I asked. She nodded, and just smiled at me. We walked off the bus in silence. Inside the station she turned to face me. We just looked into each others' eyes. Hers were so much deeper than they had been. They seemed happy and filled with a lust of something. So much had changed for her. So much had changed for me. I had no idea how much had changed for Rory in these past few months. I pushed the thought out of my head as I embraced Aerin tightly, hugging her like there was no tomorrow. She kissed my shoulder and returned the hug greatfully. She had gotten much taller than me somehow.

It felt like we had been hugging each other for hours. I didn't want to let go - I was about to make a huge step into an old world that had drastically changed, and I had no idea what was coming. It was your basic coming-of-age story, and I was stuck in the middle of it. Aerin was my last piece of sanity to cling to and the thing was that it wasn't sane in the least bit. This girl had tried to destory mine and Rory's relationship, and she had succeeded without actually doing much damage. Or did she do all the damage? The insecurities had been there before I met her, and were they just reinforced when we met? How was my clinging to her in any way sane?

Eventually, I let go and she stroked my face lightly. "Look jumping mouse... you've got to look before you jump." She grazed her lips gently across mine before pulling away from my grip completely and walking off into the night. I slumped down onto a bench and looked around blindly for a bus schedule. It was almost five in the morning. A bus to New Haven must've been leaving soon. But I had to make a quick stop first...

* * *

THE END of chapter seven

two notes:  
1 - I have never seen The Lost Boys, though I have intended to for many years. The "reference" was not coined from that movie, at least not intentionally.  
2- Three day week-end lots of updates.


	8. Welcome Home M'Boys

_Previously in **"The Boy with the Backwards Watch"**_

_I slumped down onto a bench and looked around blindly for a bus schedule. It was almost five in the morning. A bus to New Haven must've been leaving soon. But I had to make a quick stop first...

* * *

_

**Chapter Eight:** _Welcome Home M'Boys_

I took a deep breath and looked around. The town was already rushing about, and wide awake. I took a step off the bus, lugging my giant duffle bag with me. Deja vu? This time, there was no nervous uncle Luke to greet me, no dread of failing. Secretly. Just complacency. And, I suppose, a dread of failing, but for something completely different.

The smell of the town was the same. I remembered that smell, when it was new. Oh, nostalgia. I knew as soon as I stepped into the diner, word would spread of my return. Possibly even before I reached the diner, people would know that I was here, in Stars Hollow. After disappearing for almost four months.

I looked around, again. Nothing had changed. People seemed happy. It was a Saturday, they should be happy - kids were free from school, some people were free from work. There was just an air of blithe splendor. I inhaled deeply, closed my eyes, and moved my feet. When I reopened them, I was walking towards the diner, bracing myself for stares, glares, and everything else. I stood outside it for a moment, already noticing the sudden change in that complacent air. There was something darker lingering in my general vicinity now. I inhaled deeply again before walking up to the door of the diner, bag over my shoulder, ready and willing to face whatever was in store for me on the other side.

That angellic tingle of the bell on the door sounded sharply in my ear. I think I might've gotten taller. As soon as I stepped over the threshold of the doorway, the clamour of the diner ceased. Everybody held their forks midair and stared at me. I ignored the faces and sat down at the only empty seat at the counter. Everybody was staring at me still. I just kind of whistled and looked around the diner. It hadn't changed a bit. It was still that relatively clean, homey place, filled with the familiar scent of cheeseburgers and coffee.

People slowly began chewing on their food again, although still staring at me out of the corners of their eyes. Some had full on forgotten their food with fascination. Heavy thumps were coming down the stairs, followed by a few lighter, more peppy bounding thumps. Luke appeared in the doorway, and stopped dead at the sight of me. I smiled meekly at him. Lorelai rammed straight into his back.

"God Luke. Do you have to suddenly stop at the bottom of the stairs like you're..." she paused when she saw why Luke had stopped. Her eyes instantly narrowed, but Luke had a look of sheer amazment on his face. It was, once again, completely silent in the diner. I wasn't too sure, but there was probably a crowd gathered outside the diner, pressing eagerly against the glass to see what was happening.

"Hey, Uncle Luke," I said quietly. He just stared at me. Lorelai looked from me to Luke and then back to me. "Hi Lorelai."

"Wha..." she began, but Luke cut her off. He took a deep breath and just started in on me.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You leave in the middle of the night? You leave a helluva a goodbye note for me to wake up to? I thought you could've been dead in a goddamn ditch somewhere, Jess. What were you thinking? Where the hell have you been?"

I tried saying "I'm sorry," but Luke just kept going. Everybody was wide-eyed and watching with immense intrest. "The last person you talked to before you left was Rory and she couldn't say anything. She cried for two days straight, Jess. Two days straight. You broke that girl's goddamn heart, and you left me worried sick about you. No calls, no letters, nothing. No word from you. For four months. No word. Where did you go, what did you do? What happened to you?"

Again, I feebly tried an "I'm sorry," but now Lorelai was starting in on me. "What gives you the right? What gives you the right to do that to a girl that's treated you the best any girl ever has? She loved you Jess, and she believed in you like nobody else did. She truly, truly cared about you, and you ripped her heart out and smashed it into bitty pieces. And Luke? What were you thinking? Of course... you weren't thinking. You were completely narcissistic, you just left, leaving Luke worried sick about you for months. You left my daughter broken. She almost didn't want to go to Europe! She's been wanting to do that trip her entire life, and because of you, she didn't want to go. You crushed her. You crushed her unfairly, and you don't deserve any more of my ranting time or Luke's. Comprende?" She was huffing, her face flushed. Luke's was drained of colour. Before I knew it, he was rushing over to me, wrapping his arms tight around my head and neck. It sounded like he was crying, or at least supressing sobs.

"I'm sorry," I murmured into his head, and patted his back. He pulled away and looked over at Lorelai. She rolled her eyes and stepped back from the doorway to let Luke pull me through. I left my things next to my stool, but I didn't really care. I was home.

Inside Luke's apartment, Luke turned around and looked at me. "You grew."

"I noticed."

"Four months away from home and you grew." He shook his head.

"In all honesty, this isn't really my home. New York is."

"Don't joke," he said. I smiled. Then, there was silence. "I'm sorry. I was wrong... I get that now. But I needed to clear my head. I don't think I understood how wrong I was when I was leaving."

"Where'd you go?" he asked, quietly. He was still angry, but the yelling spree was over for now. I shrugged to answer his question, and he gave me a hairy eyeball.

"California, at first. Then, all the way back to New York. I've been in Boston for a few weeks. I called you from Boston, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything, I guess. Too much baggage to cover over the phone."

"California?"

"Yeah. Pretty boring."

"So, have you figured yourself out?" he asked earnestly. I nodded.

"I think so. I hope so."

"Rory's been waiting for you. I think everyone was telling her you weren't coming back. But she's been waiting. I know that's what you wanted to hear." I brightened up at the mention of Rory's name. I felt so glad that she had been waiting for me, and at the same time, I felt so horrible. She'd been waiting for me. "And yes, you can crash here for a few days." This brightened me up even more.

"Thank god. I didn't want to have to go to an inn or anything."

"A few days. Then you have to figure out what to do with your life." I nodded.

"A few days. Yeah, I can do that." I smiled at him, and he smiled back. I missed his rarely-seen smile. "I'm so sorry. Have I mentioned that?" He nodded at me, and pulled me into a manly hug.

"I'll bring your stuff upstairs. You can sneak out the back, borrow my truck if needed. I know you really need to get to Yale. Work this out with Rory. That's the most important thing, I suppose."

"Yeah... But, I can stay a little while. Catch up. With you," I looked at him, trying not to look too hopeful. I really was a Stars Hollow boy. He shook his head and looked at me.

"Gotta work," he threw a thumb back to the apartment door. "And you gotta go mend something. So... do that." He flung the door open and walked out. I stood in the apartment for a few minutes, soaking it in. She had really waited for me, all this time. I smiled to myself before flinging the door open myself and sneaking out back.

I found Luke's truck alright, without many people seeing me. I figured it out easily enough and made off in the direction of Yale. Every computer I had found on my crosscountry trip, I had used to memorize the way to Yale from Stars Hollow. I knew it by heart without ever having used it.

The parking spaces were pretty limited in front of the school. It was a Saturday, so I wasn't sure whether or not Rory would be there. I had found her dorm address on a piece of paper in Luke's car. I think he had recently been there, probably helping Lorelai transport materials.

So, aside from parking being hell, I was uplifted. My heart was beating about twenty times a millisecond. I could feel the excitement rushing through my veins. Rory. I was going to see Rory. I arrived in front of her building, and opened the door cautiously. However, what I saw directly in front of her dorm shattered me. I stopped dead in my tracks to some guy pressing his lips to Rory's. The two parted, and looked back at me. "Jess... what the hell are you doing here?" Roy said shockedly.

I blinked, and looked at the empty hallway. I was so certain that that would be what I'd find. I shook my head, and my hands were convulsing as I lifted one to knock on the door. I waited a full second or two before the door swung open. Standing there was something radiant. I swept her up in a fullblown, romance movie kiss. She gave into me instantly, running her hands up and down my arms. She was warm and perfect. I knew every crevice of her body like a book I had read a thousand times during my childhood. It felt perfect to be against her again, have her in my arms again.

She pulled away in surprise, eyes completely wide, tears rolling gently down her cheeks. I wiped one off her cheek and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Who the hell are you?" came a voice behind me.

* * *

THE END of chapter eight

YAY!


	9. Strapless

_Previously in **"The Boy with the Backwards Watch"**_

_She pulled away in surprise, eyes completely wide, tears rolling gently down her cheeks. I wiped one off her cheek and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear._

_"Who the hell are you?" came a voice behind me.

* * *

_

**Chapter Nine:** _Strapless_

I turned around the face this anonymous voice. A young man with dark hair was standing in the doorway. Rory quickly pushed her way past me and out of the doorway, to stand in front of me. "Marty..."

"Who is this, Rory?" This Marty guy was looking from me to Rory and then back to me, utterly dumbfounded.

"Who are you?" I asked him.

"You first," he said threateningly. Rory was so confused, she had no idea what to do. She just stood there between Marty and I, confused and lost.

"He's just... Jess." I was taken aback. _Just Jess_? What, was I suddenly nothing to her? And Luke had said that she had waited for me. So much for Luke keeping my trust - though I should've known he'd be oblivious. "He's my... actually, I'm not sure what he is," Rory said, looking back at me. "Uhm, Jess... this is Marty. He was just coming to pick me up... for a date." She swallowed a lump in her throat. "And I think I really need to talk to you inside, Marty," she said. "Could you wait outside for a second, Jess?" I nodded and glared at the other boy as he followed Rory inside her suite.

I heard hushed talking, and then a few shouts, and then Marty swung the door open angrily and stormed off up the stairs. Rory appeared at my side, head hung low, staring at her feet. "I'm sorry Jess. I didn't... I didn't think you'd ever be coming back." She didn't lift her head when she spoke to me - she didn't look at me at all. "I mean... it took you so long. I... people kept telling me to stop waiting."

"I made a promise," I said plainly. I wanted to hug her, but I knew she wouldn't let me. "So... was he my replacement?" She shook her head.

"First date. I mean, he and I have sort've been friendly-ish. I don't know. But... you're back," she muttered, finally looking up at me. She seemed torn between wanting to slap me on the face and wanted to embrace me for ages. "You're back," she said, louder, as if trying to make sure that she wasn't lying to herself. She smiled at me, and I smiled back. Then she looked down at the floor again and rubber her eyes with one hand. The other arm was crossed across her chest. I lifted my hand slowly, and allowed my fingers to hold her chin slightly. She didn't budge, but looked up at me out of the corner of her eye.

"I made a promise. And I came back. And I think I love you more than ever. These past few months have been utter insanity without you, and I know now that I was stupid to leave, I shouldn't have left. I just shouldn't have. But I think I needed to leave to figure that out." I pulled an arm around her and hugged her close. She left her fists digging into my chest, and rested her head under my chin snugly.

"You grew," she said quietly, as I rocked her back and forth. It seemed like ages before we pulled apart, and she slowly pressed her lips against mine. It was perfection, it was what we had been missing. I had missed her so much, and I didn't want to let her go.

So I didn't. She took my hand and brought me into her dorm room, shutting the door behind her. "Paris is gone for the week-end," she said quietly, turning to me. I looked at her intensively. She averted her glance and looked around the room, rubbing her arms. "This room... seems so small."

"No. It seems perfect. Its where you live, so it must be." It was cheesy to say, I know, but I was caught up in the moment. She smiled at me and walked over to me, taking her sweet time. Without kissing me, she held her hands against my chest, feeling my heartbeat through muscle and skin and cotton. I held her wrists in my hands and just gazed into her eyes. They were blue and round and deep - an ocean of emotion. Hey, that rhymed! But she was just caught up in something. I guess I was too.

I let go of her and held her head in my hands, kissing her deeply. She feel into my arms, and wrapped them around my body. I worked my way down her neck and I knew she was becoming a part of me again - whole. She worked her hands up my shirt and slowly pulled it off. It went over my head and the seconds we were separated felt like thousands of years. I ran my hands up her back and undid her bra expertly, as though this moment was meant to happen. She kissed me passionately, searching me thoroughly. I was lost in her essence, I was lost in her.

I undid the buttons on her shirt, and she let it fall off with her bra. I ran my hands over her, remembering what we had before I left. He hands went to my belt and undid it, before undoing the button and the zip. She fell back onto her bed and I positioned myself familiarly over her, bending my neck at the perfect angle so that our foreheads touched as I undid her belt. She ran her hands through my hair and we kissed again, lost.

I stroked her hair as she lay next to me, drifting through euphoria. I might've been right there with her, naked in a dorm bed, but I was somewhere else entirely. I was searching her soul, finding all the scars I had left and healing them over. I knew I wouldn't find them all, but I could try. She leaned her head against my shoulder, inhaling deeply, taking in my scent. It was hers now, she had claim.

"You cut your hair," I said, noticing it now. She giggled and turned on her side to face me.

"You just noticed?" I kissed her quickly and looked her in the eyes. She giggled again.

"I was too busy having sex with you to notice. Sorry. Does that make me a bad boyfriend?" She smiled and closed her eyes, sighing. "Should I have said making love?"

"I think its an appropriate term in this context," she said. She sounded very tired. This day must've been emotionally trying for her. I kissed her forehead and pulled her head to rest on my chest. "Mmm... Jesspillow," she muttered, moving her head slightly so that she was comfortable. I stroked her hair and her breathing evened out. She was falling asleep.

"Rory..."

"Mmm?"

"I'm sorry." There was no response. I didn't wake her, but just rested my chin on top of her head. If all was right with the world, why did I feel guilty? I traced every bump in her back. I had "Two Headed Boy" stuck in my head, and all I could think about was the lines "And in the dark we will take off our clothes and they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine." For some reason, I just couldn't stop singing those lines in my head. I just traced the notches in her spine, and I couldn't help but feel guilty.

Why did I feel guilty? My eyelids fluttered closed and I listened to Rory's heartbeat and her breathing. I fell in time with her, and eventually, the room went black.

Next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake. Rory was almost fully clothed, and trying to get me up. "My god, you sleep like a rock," she said. "Paris just called. She's almost here." I looked over at the clock. It was about 12.30 at night.

"Where the hell did she go that she's getting here at 12.30?" I asked as Rory threw my pants at me. I pulled them on under the covers, and did up the belt. I hopped out of Rory's bed and wondered how we had fit. It seemed so small. I took the shirt that she was handing to me and slowly pulled it over my head, letting her savour the sights before covering myself up for good. Then Rory went to making her bed. "She'll probably just think you were asleep, and that you were having nightmares or something."

"No, Paris will know," she said exhasperated, trying to hurriedly tidy up her sheets.

"So? Isn't this college?"

"Paris will lecture me mercilessly."

"Will she really?" Rory paused at this comment.

"I don't know. Don't just stand there, go out into the common area and look like you've been sleeping on the couch or something." She tossed a blanket at me and I rushed out. Clearly Rory was panicking, and I just couldn't figure out why. And then the door flung open.

* * *

THE END of chapter nine


	10. Let Me Out Again

_Previously in **The Boy with the Backwards Watch**_

_"I don't know. Don't just stand there, go out into the common area and look like you've been sleeping on the couch or something." She tossed a blanket at me and I rushed out. Clearly Rory was panicking, and I just couldn't figure out why. And then the door flung open.

* * *

_

**Chapter Ten:** _Let Me Out Again_

Paris came in like a winter storm. Everything about her was screaming anger. "I hate having to go places. I HATE IT!" she was kind of going crazy when Rory rushed in, and then she noticed me. "Jess..." she turned to Rory, "What, pray tell, is he doing here?" Rory pulled Paris into their shared dorm, and I just kind of stood there, not sure what was happening. There was hushed arguing coming from the other side of the wall. I heard lots of stuff about "breaking" and "denial" in which Paris seemed to be trying to knock sense into Rory. I guess Lorelai and Luke haven't been the only concerned ones.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, Rory came bursting out of the dorm, closing the door precariously behind her and leaning against it for support. "That woman's a madman. Is that contradictory?" I said to Rory. She laughed and brushed hair out of her eyes. "I missed this. This craziness."

"Me too," she muttered, laughing to herself nervously. "I think someone's going to sleep well tonight. After throwing a tantrum, there isn't all that tossing and turning." She walked over to me and took my hand, keeping her round blue eyes on the floor before flickering a glance in my direction. "Why did you come back?"

"I promised. I thought we already went over this," I mumbled, slightly irritated, swinging her arm a little bit.

"Your promises have never really meant much up until now," she said, dropping my hand like it was diseased and walking back to the dorm room door. "I love you, Jess. But how do I have a garuntee that you're reliable. And that you'll be here?" She craned her neck to look back at me. I was just kind of stunned. "I don't, do I? Because you've never been able to give me that promise. You can promise to love me and you can promise to always come back, but I know that when you promise me that you're staying - that you're really, truly here with me - its empty. Completely empty." She just kind of looked at me sadly, and before I could say anything she had opened the door and walked through. "You can stay on the couch if you want," she muttered before descending into darkness.

So I sat on the couch, staring at the TV. Before I knew what I was doing, I found myself beating the crap out of the pillows. I wasn't calming down any, and this entire night was leaving me high strung. I shut my eyes tight, letting the blood collect in my eyelids. I could feel my pulse against my irises. It felt calming. Before I knew it, I was losing consciousness. Drifting into a world of blackness and shallow dreams. The couch wasn't exactly good for sleeping on, but I was so damn tired.

When I woke up, there was a girl who looked about sixteen with her nose about an inch from mine. When she saw my eyes flutter open, she screamed and jumped back. "Who...who...who are you?" she asked me, stuttering and tucked her hair behind her ears. Must've been a nervous habit.

"Who are you?"

"I asked first..." she said, looking wildly around the room. Paris came bursting out of her and Rory's dorm room. "Tanna, how many times do I have to tell you? Can't you save the morning screaming until we're all at class?"

"Sorry Paris," the girl named Tanna said shyly. "There's just a strange guy on the couch." Rory came rushing into the room, pulling a bathrobe around her tightly. "Is everyone okay?"

"In a manner of speaking," I said collecting myself as I stood up. "Morning all."

"Morning, Jess," Paris sniped, still giving the evil eye to Tanna. "Hey Tanna, why don't you go get yourself some breakfast. I mean, its fun, its Sunday. Go... do something. I mean, Althetabot is already on her morning run, isn't she?" Tanna nodded quickly. She reminded me of a mouse as she scurried out of the room and down the hall. Paris then turned on me. "What are you still doing here? Don't you have some precious American wastelands to go visit? Why don't you just go and let things heal? God!" she screeched, storming back into her and Rory's room. Rory looked at me nervously before coming over.

"Things never seem to get dull around here," I said. Rory smiled. I smiled back. "Have I mentioned that I'm sorry? And that I'm staying. I promise."

"Jess..."

"What? I do. I'm staying for good this time, barring a permanent break-up or death. I mean, not even severe illness."

"Didn't you hear a word I said last night?"

"To be honest, I can't hear a word you're saying now. Paris is capable of trashing a few decibles." Rory just looked at me painfully. I couldn't bear it anymore, so I kissed her, and slowly, but surely, she fell into a puddle of what we used to have. "I know... that you don't want me to give you empty promises. And they're not empty. Not this time."

"How about we deal? You don't promise anything and I'll be spontaneous and there. I mean, trust must be reestablished, fire must be rekindled. I just want to skip it, and we'll see what happens along the way, alright?"

"Alright." I kissed her again and she pulled away, smiling at me. She seemed happy with the decision. However, just to toy with her, I rolled my eyes and said, "I promise I won't make any more promises." She hit my arm and then kissed my ear lightly.

"I think that this'll work," she said before sitting down on the couch and pulling me down with her.

* * *

THE END of chapter ten

I know that it was a bit of a wait for such a short chapter, but I'll try to crank out a few more before break is up. Also, I plan on updating every single piece over the next week, but I need your help on something. Go read **Compliance, Dependance, and Thievery** and then read **At the End of Reality: An Internal Prelude**. Then vote on the following - I have considered turning CDT into a full-length story. However, I also wanted to work much harder on At the End of Relaity. I can only do one or the other. Whatever is more demanded will get a bit more sway, although the final decision is up to me. So tell me what you think.


	11. Make Me Understand

_Previously in **"The Boy with the Backwards Watch"**_

_"I think that this'll work," she said before sitting down on the couch and pulling me down with her.

* * *

_

**Chapter 11:** _Make Me Understand_

I knocked on the door. It was hard and it felt like I was bashing my hand against diamonds. "I'm coming, I'm coming," came a gruff, grumbling voice from the other side. The door swung open, and there stood Luke. "Hey," he said, kind of awkwardly. "Uhm... you haven't been back in a few days."

"Yeah, sorry, I was..."

"I was starting to think you'd left again," he said quietly.

"Sorry. I was with Rory. We had some... catching up to do," I said, taking a deep breath at the end. "Oh, I'm sorry... its really late isn't it?"

"Naw, it's fine, come in." He opened the door enough that I could come inside. It was mostly dark, he hadn't really bothered to turn any of the lights on in his apartment. "How... how did you get into the diner?" He asked, flicking on the lights and pulling a chair out at the little table in the centre of the room.

"The key was where it usually is," I said matter-of-factly.

"Right. Of course." We sat in silence, bathed in this eerie kind of glowing light. I looked at the nearest clock - I hadn't realized how late it had gotten. I felt kind of bad. Not only had I taken off without a word for four months, but when I came back, I didn't actually come back exactly. I just disappeared for two more days. I knew Luke would understand eventually. But there we were, sitting like that for what seemed like hours before either of us could speak. "So, about you staying here..." I perked up. "You can stay as long as you need to. The only terms are that you have to get a job and you have to start going to school for the next semester, okay?"

"Yeah... that's fine. I can do that," I said, happy that he was letting me stay as long as I needed.

"And I'll help you look for an apartment, alright? But... tomorrow. Its really late." I smiled a thank-you at him, and he nodded in acknowledgment. The room was dim and grey, but everything felt bright and shining. I was back where I belonged, back with Luke, back in Stars Hollow, back together with Rory. Everything seemed right. "I'm going back to bed," Luke said, pointing to his little area. "See you in the morning." I nodded, and he turned back to his bed.

"Luke," I said spontaneously. He turned around again. He looked so haggard. Had he really been worrying about me that much? "Thank you. For everything." A small, very tired-looking smile crept up on his face. "And I'm sorry. For everything." He waved it off and turned away again. I went over to the small bed I had known so well. It was comforting, seeing it there, like it had been waiting for my return. It felt good to be sitting again, seeing as it felt like the wind had just been knocked out of me. I kicked off my shoes - they felt like lead. The ceiling above me seemed to float, lulling me into a comforted, happy sleep.

I awoke with a start, having had something thrown at my head. "What was that?" I said, shaking my hair with one hand while searching for the object with another. I blinked a few times, letting my eyes adjust to the light. Luke was standing over me, looking slightly threatening. I scampered to sit up, and finally, my fingers brushed against the mystery object on the floor. "Hell of a good morning," I said through my teeth, picking up the newspaper off of the ground.

"You're apartment searching," Luke said. I tossed the newspaper onto the foot of the bed and threw my sheets off. My eyes stung from the early morning light, and, although everything seemed blurry, I could make out a person standing in the doorway of Luke's apartment.

"Good morning, sunshine." Lorelai's voice came floating mock-angellically from the other side of the threshold.

"Hello to you too, Lorelai," I said, standing up groggily. I then realized that I was standing in front of my girlfriend's mother in nothing but boxers and a thin teeshirt. She made a strange face and then averted her eyes. Mine decided to roll. "I need pants," I said aloud to nobody in particular.

"That's great," Luke mumbled. Lorelai just said, "Oh, darn, and here I was thinking it was a party. Who needs pants these days?" Lorelai was stifling giggles as I marched myself somewhat abashedly into the nearby closet and pulled a pair of jeans on. Then, trying to avoid Lorelai, who was conversing nonchalantly with Luke, I searched through my sack of stuff trying to find a decent shirt. Turning my back to the odd couple, I tugged my white sleeping tee off and pulled a possibly fresh Clash shirt on. I didn't face the rest of the room right away, trying to busy myself with shoes and socks. "Well, I'll see you around Lukey," Lorelai said playfully. Luke groaned in protest of the nickname. "Jess," she said flatly before flying out of the apartment. I was surprised she even acknowledged me at all in her good-byes.

"Well, Lukey, I got some reading to catch up on," I said, picking up my newspaper and waving it. "I'll be downstairs." Luke just shook his head and went about early morning cleaning up. Halfway down the stairs I shouted up to him, "Does Caesar need any help?" I'm not sure, but I think he yelled down "no." I was slightly distracted by the monster standing at the counter.

"So, the great disappearing rabbit has returned."

"Nice to see you too, Dean."

* * *

It's nice to see you all, too! I'm sure you missed me, what with my empty wishes and hollow promises. I apologize for my late return. However, I will try so very hard to get at least one more chapter out in my last week of vacation. I also will try to update everything else.  
My House story (Hero of the Story) won an award. I am so happy. Yay!  
Sorry this chapter is so damn short! 


	12. important author's note

**Incase you haven't checked the author's profile yet. **

**SKAZUMBI THE LOVELI, FANFICTION WRITER, WILL NOT BE RETURNING TO FANFICTION EITHER IN THE NEAR FUTURE OR THE FAR ONE. THIS IS A SAD FACT, BUT IT IS TRUE. SHE DEEPLY APOLOGISES TO ANY FANS WHO MAY BE HURT, CRUSHED, WOUNDED, OR BETRAYED BY THIS ACT. HOWEVER, HER REASONS SHALL REMAIN HER OWN, AND HER WRITINGS SHALL REMAIN UP FOR THE TIME BEING. SO REVEL IN THE ONE FINISHED AND SEVERAL UNFINISHED STORIES BY THE SHORT-LIVED "AWARD-WINNING" WRITER SKAZUMBI THE LOVELI.**

**THANK YOU ALL.**


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